Effects of flaxseed and flaxseed oil supplement on serum levels of inflammatory markers, metabolic parameters and severity of disease in patients with ulcerative colitis.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to evaluate the possible effect of grounded flaxseed and flaxseed oil on serum levels of inflammatory markers, metabolic parameters, and the severity of disease in patients with UC.

METHODS: In this open-labeled randomized controlled trial, 90 UC patients were randomly assigned to one of the 3 groups for 12 weeks: grounded flaxseed (GF; 30 g/day), flaxseed oil (FO; 10 g/day) and control group. The weight, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, serum inflammatory markers (interleukin-6 (IL-6), interferon gamma (INF-γ), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)), and fecal calprotectin were measured at the baseline and end of the study.

RESULTS: Totally, 75 patients (43 men and 32 women) with a mean age of 31.54 ± 9.84 years participated in the present study. Comparing the change of the variables indicated a significant decrease in fecal calprotectin (P < 0.001), Mayo score (P < 0.001), ESR (P < 0.001), INF-γ (P < 0.001), IL-6 (P < 0.001), waist circumference (P = 0.02), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) (P < 0.001), and Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) (P < 0.001) and a significant increase in TGF-β (P < 0.001) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire-Short form (IBDQ-9) score (P < 0.001) in the GF and FO groups compared to the control. No difference was obvious between the FO and GF groups except for TGF-β.

CONCLUSION: The present study showed that both flaxseed and flaxseed oil, attenuate inflammatory markers, disease severity, blood pressure, and WC. However, the effect of flaxseed on weight and BMI was not evident.